Renewed push for road safety in Groveland neighborhood

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in Groveland still fear their neighborhood roads are not as safe as they can be. This comes after a speeding car crashed into two homes in the Cypress Oaks Neighborhood one year ago, causing a fire to erupt and was seconds away from hitting Kelsey Hotchkiss and her young son.

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Hotchkiss said the plea for safer roads continues in the neighborhood.

“It is absolutely still a problem behind our home that there are cars not paying attention, speeding,” Hotchkiss said.

Hotchkiss said the city has made some changes like the addition of speed tables and signage. She said it hasn’t prevented wreckless driving though, and from broken car parts being left behind in her backyard.

“Lost control, I was out there with my kids on the sidewalk,” Hotchkiss said. “Went up on the sidewalk, scrapped by the fence, took out a tree, and sped away.”She said the incident happened in February.

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While not all residents were on board, the city did install a temporary barricade between Cypress Oaks and Marina Del Ray neighborhoods to prevent drivers from cutting through.

The pilot project has since been removed.

“I can tell you, as a homeowner in this community, there was a whole lot less speeding,” Hotchkiss said.

It’s a community that Hotchkiss and her family don’t want to leave. The fear for their safety has made them question all options.

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“My husband and I have considered moving, Hotchkiss said. “I’m certainly not comfortable with my children playing in their own fenced in backyard. I would like to get to the point where it’s safe for my kids to play outside. I deserve that as a homeowner in this community.”

We did speak with city leaders who told us the Groveland Police Department increased police presence and installed a speed monitoring device in the neighborhood. Special Operations Sergeant, Sgt. Pena, provided us the data from that device. So far this year, an average of about 1,4000 cars traveled by the device, and about 5 cars per day sped at 10+ miles over the speed limit.

The city also brought in an outside transportation consultant who did a walkthrough of the neighborhood with homeowners. The consultant provided a list to the city of additional potential improvements. City leaders said they are evaluating that list and hope to make more improvements in the coming months.

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